I have a TRV-900 and am looking for a very basic (but not junky) well-functioning tripod for a beginner. Someone is selling bogen 3046 sticks /3063 head. Is this a decent setup, they're selling them for $120. Thanks!

I have 3 3046/3246 tripods and I love them. In fact if I wasn't already married I'd probably...no wait thats wrong!! Way wrong. Sorry. But I really do like them. As for the 3063 head, I have one that I don't use anymore, it's not a fluid head or even close to it but if you work with it and learn how to use a tripod head correctly with that one when you get a better tripod head you'll be in heaven! For the money, if it's not all beat up and everything works I think it's a decent price.
Of course, that's only my opinion and as you know opinions are like noses! Everyone has one. I'm sure others will give you their opinion as well. Take the info and use your gut to tell you if it's the right one for you.
Don B.

Hi Michelle,
I've been using that pan-head (sold as the Manfroto 136 in Europe) for 10 years - until last week, in fact. (See elsewhere on this board if you're interested in my new tripod.) It's been pretty good, stood up to some rough treatment without ill effect, and I've been in no hurry to replace it. However, let me point out some of the niggles that have persuaded me to upgrade.

The head moves smoothly enough if you're careful. It stays where it's put if the camera is well balanced and you tighten the tilt drag a bit. You can't move the camera back and forth to find the balance point, so if you have heavy accessories like lights, lens adaptors, filters or a large battery on the camera you'll have to hold onto the handle to stop it tilting on its own.

When I got a Canon XM1, and started using the very long telephoto zoom (x20), I noticed that I was transmitting too much movement from the pan handle. I'm sure this was largely down to my unsteady hands and poor technique, but the head did not help me as much as a more expensive one might. However, if you don't do much long-zoom work, this won't be a problem.

You can adjust the drag on tilting a bit using the handle on the side, but there's no effective adjustment on pan drag. There's a little screw on the casing that just tightens a clamp - a bit like a jubilee clip. I found it was OK for locking the head in place, but didn't help to adjust the panning. I always left mine slackened off.

You can get a second pan-handle for this head, but it becomes difficult to adjust them, since they are secured with the same bolt, with a nut on each end. This means that if you loosen either nut, you free both handles at once. I did this on location one day, dropped both handles, and wasted fifteen minutes trying to get set up again.

The tripod should be very steady, but you will find it heavy to lug around. On the plus side, you can get extesion legs to raise it up to about 8 feet high (see elsewhere on this board).

If it has quick release levers on the legs, check that they grip firmly at several lengths. As it got older, a couple of the levers on my old Manfroto 074 legs would only grip properly at about half to two-thirds extension. Despite progressively tightening the adjusting nuts (and then losening them when I'd gone too far), they wouldn't grip reliably at full stretch, which is where you really need it! This was my main reason for getting a new one. However, the design may be different on "your" tripod.

Also, check that the head stays level as you pan round. It is not unknown for this not to be the case.

At the price, it sounds like a bargain provided it's in good nick. Don't forget to ask the seller why they're selling, and what they've got instead...

Good luck

Mark

Those are great legs! I have the 3246/503 combo. I would say go for it for now. The legs alone are worth $200. You can always upgrade to a 503 head or something later.